How to Eliminate the Dinnertime Nightmare

But I’m sure you already knew that, because if your family is anything like mine ‘What’s for dinner?’ is one of the most asked question of the day (a close second to ‘Can I have a snack?’).

I used to despise that question. Mostly because on a pretty regular basis I had no idea what to make and I knew that I’d end up defaulting to something frozen or take out again and that made me feel so guilty as a mama.

Wasn’t this literally my job to feed my family? Why does it have to be so hard?

I knew there had to be a better way, that even though I wasn’t the best at it, I shouldn’t have to absolutely hate it. So maybe instead of trying harder, I just needed to try different.

These days, I don’t wonder what to make for dinner every night. And I don’t wander aimlessly through the grocery aisles hoping to catch some inspiration while staring at the fresh produce.

Enter meal planning and grocery pickup.

Yall, these two things have literally changed my life!

I know what we are having for dinner every night for close to the next two weeks and I very rarely step foot into the grocery store. It is literally THE BEST THING.

My System for Meal Planning and Grocery Pickup

I typically meal plan on Sunday evening or Monday morning and try to plan for two weeks at a time so I am only actually ‘planning’ every other week. The first few weeks of planning took a little time, but now I can plan about two weeks of meals in less than half an hour.

I take inventory of what food we already have in stock and base my meals around those then I add recipes and meals to compliment each other. I try to include one new recipe a week as cooking is not my strength for sure but it is something I want to improve.

I look at our upcoming schedule and assign meals to certain days depending on how busy we are, and leave one night open towards the end of the week for leftovers night or dinner out.

From my menu I create a grocery list for items needed this week, double-checking for any staples that we may be running low on. I love that with pickup I can place an order right from my phone, schedule, and don’t even have to get the kids out of the car.

Meal Planning Systems

I personally use the app Plan to Eat to plan our meals and keep my grocery list.

I love the set up of it and how easy it is to add and save recipes and that I can set reminders for me to prep food (i.e. set out meat to thaw, turn on the crockpot, etc…)

However, I know that so there are a lot of people who prefer a physical planner and having something visible hanging in their kitchen and fridge. So I have created a Meal Planner (and bonus recipe card) that you can print at home as many times as you need or put in a frame and update weekly with a dry erase marker. Download your printable below!

Feeling like a Confident Mama

I went from being overwhelmed and frustrated to confident in the kitchen. I’m not gonna lie, I still feed my kids their fair share of chicken nuggets and boxed mac and cheese. But when I am feeding them from a place of intention and planning and not of frustration I can make those decisions with a heavy dose of grace.

What about you? Are you frustrated and overwhelmed when it comes to feeding your family?

Right now with the virus, school being out, and most of us working from home or struggling to know when we will have a paycheck next, we have so much on our plates as it is.

Could meal planning or scheduling a grocery pickup help ease some of that stress?